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The Insider's Guide is a nationally-published college reference guide that is compiled and edited by the Yale Daily News staff. The Insider's Guide to the Colleges covers over 300 schools in the United States and Canada. Our aim is to provide readers with an insider's perspective on these colleges through interviews with students and feedback from admissions offices and undergraduate organizations.

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Gettysburg College

Address: 300 North Washington Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone: 717-337-6100
E mail Address: admiss@gettysburg.edu
Web site URL: www.gettysburg.edu
Year Founded: 1832
Private or Public: Private
Religious affiliation: Lutheran
Location: Suburban
Number of Applicants: 5,395
Percent Accepted: 41%
Percent Accepted who enroll: 33%
Number Entering: 730
Number of Transfers Accepted each Year: 12
Middle 50% SAT range: 1220–1360
Middle 50% ACT range: NA
Early admission program (EA/ ED/ None): ED
Percentage accepted through EA or ED: 70%
EA deadline: 15-Nov
Regular Deadline: 1-Feb
Application Fee: $45
Full time Undergraduate enrollment: 2,531
Total enrollment: 2,531
Percent Male: 46%
Percent Female: 54%
Total Percent Minority: 7%
Percent African-American: 4%
Percent Asian/Pacific Islander: 1%
Percent Hispanic: 2%
Percent Native-American: <1%
Percent Other: 0%
Percent in-state / out of state: 27%/73%
Percent from Public HS: 70%
Retention Rate: 90%
Graduation Rate (4-year): 75%
Graduation Rate (6-year): 80%
Percent in On-campus housing: 94%
Percent affiliated with Greek system: 66%
Number of official organized extracurricular organizations: 100
3 Most popular majors: Business, Political Science, Psychology
Student/Faculty ratio: 11:01
Average Class Size: 14
Percent of students going to grad school: 40%
Tuition and Fees: $33,700
In State Tuition and Fees (if different): no difference
Cost for Room and Board: $8,260
Percent receiving Financial aid, first year: 54%

A mention of Gettysburg College most often brings to mind the picturesque fields that served as a major battlefield during the Civil War and the location of Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address. Come to Gettysburg though, and you will find more than just a campus steeped in history. On this site of enormous historical importance, Gettysburg students live and learn in the most thoroughly modern facilities. At this small liberal arts college, students are accomplishing more than war reenactments and historical tours. They thrive in both the intimate academic atmosphere and the extensive social scene.
Integrated Learning

Classes at Gettysburg tend to be very small and with a student to faculty ratio of 11:1, it’s no wonder classes rarely reach twenty students. Professors teach all classes and students agree that the professors are very accessible. According to one senior, “The professors here teach what they are passionate about. They really respect us and are interested in our minds.” This type of enthusiasm appears to be uniformly present through the student body. Students start out freshman year with a unique Gettysburg experience, the First Year Seminars. Freshmen pick from a variety of unique courses ranging from “The Makings of the Great American Musical” to “Got Porn? A Critical Approach to Pornography” and the “Critical Debates that Divided the Women’s Movement.” The learning experience does not stop at the end of the sixteen-person seminar, however. Residential Hall assignments for freshmen are directly linked to their freshmen seminar and college writing courses; that way informal discussion is facilitated outside the classroom setting. Students come to Gettysburg fairly aware of the requirements of the college, from the freshmen seminar to the course requirements mandating that students take courses in fields outside their major.

Gettysburg students seem to agree that the requirements provide a broad liberal arts base without restricting their ability to explore. The part that draws the most complaints is the natural science requirement. But, as one student pointed out, “The science departments seem to understand and create a few courses designed for seniors to meet their graduation requirements as painlessly as possible.” These include courses such as “The Chesapeake Bay” and “Natural Disasters,” which fill up within minutes of the beginning of senior course registration.

Gettysburg students cite the most popular majors as political science, history, psychology, and management, which is also named one of the easiest majors. Aspiring Management majors should be aware though that there is talk of the major being discontinued and its nearest replacement is economics. The Sciences are generally regarded as the hardest majors. Some of the more popular classes include “Philosophy of Food,” “The Bible and Modern Moral Issues,” and “Economics of Sports.” Students here fall within a range of attitudes toward academics, ranging from the super motivated to the not motivated. Most students though “take academics pretty seriously and take an active stance in their education.” According to one student, “The perfect description of Gettysburg College is that you work for a B, but you work your butt off for an A.” In the words of another senior, “Gettysburg provides a great library and an amazing faculty. Anyone who claims he isn’t get anything out of his academic endeavors isn’t trying hard enough.”

Immaculate Grounds
Students universally agree that Gettysburg provides world-class facilities. Musselman Library remains open twenty-four hours Sunday through Thursday and provides tables for group studying, as well as quiet zones with a variety of seating and lighting options and even private rooms for studying. One student professes his love for the library’s availability and says, “I don’t think anyone can every truly appreciate how valuable the library hours are until your computer breaks at 2 a.m. when you have a paper due or when your roommate throws a party the night before an exam.” The Breidenbaugh, where most English classes are held, is cited as a particularly beautiful building on campus. There are currently two gyms: Bream, the main gym with an indoor track and weightlifting room, and Plank, the smaller gym with a cardio and aerobics focus. There are complaints that both gyms fill up quickly because of the popularity of working out among students. But, there is work being done to provide a new gym to address this issue. There are also swimming pools and numerous sports fields on campus.

The town of Gettysburg itself is somewhat sleepy and isolated and caters mostly to tourism. Students often get involved in the town via tutoring or other forms of volunteer work. Students also benefit from some of the bars and restaurants, the local movie theatre, the outlet mall nearby and the proximity to Baltimore and Washington, DC.

Trapped On-Campus
Students regard residential life as above average. According to one student, “After visiting other schools, it seems Gettysburg has some of the nicest dorms.” Housing gets better as you rise through the ranks. Freshmen live in standard doubles off a hallway, but upperclassmen dorms can be described as downright luxurious. Dorms have common rooms, often with big-screen TVs. Many options are apartment style with a full kitchen, living room, and private bathroom. Seniors generally get suite-style housing with all singles in The Quarry Suites. There are also theme houses owned by the college that are often closer to campus than dorms are. Many male students opt to live in their fraternity houses. Juniors and seniors are allowed to live off campus, but over ninety percent of students choose to stay on campus. On-campus housing provides many parking options and there are even opportunities for coed living. There are Residential Advisors, but most understand the realities of college life and enforce rules reasonably. No alcohol is allowed in freshmen dorms, though.

Gettysburg food is often ranked in the top twenty nationally. One student goes as far as to call it “incredibly good for a college dining hall.” One dining option, Servo, boasts a sauté line, grill and sandwich area, eggs made to order, and a vegan corner. In the College Union Building is a coffee shop, bookstore, and The Bullet Hole, another dining option that serves quick meals. Ike’s serves made to order subs, soup and wraps and is open later than any of the other options. As satisfied as students are though, it is not uncommon to head off campus to eat on weekends at places such as Pizza House or nearby chain restaurants.

Popped Collars and Pearls
The Vineyard Vines and Vera Bradley sold in the school bookstore sums up the stereotype of the average Gettysburg student. Drawing its student population mostly from the Tri-State area and New England, students seem to feel that one thing Gettysburg does lack is diversity on campus, both racially and economically. Many are white and preppy and come from a privileged, private-school background that is reflected by the BMWs, Jaguars, and Range Rovers littering the student parking lots. While students laud the administration for working to increase diversity on campus, there is still little intermixing between various groups. On the upside, one student remarks, “That is not to say there is an ‘I’m better than you’ attitude on campus and most students, regardless of income level, would feel comfortable at this school.” Students are also universally described as friendly and approachable. The small, tightly-knit campus means that people are welcoming and willing to lend a hand.

Students are also involved in a variety of extracurricular activities that draw people together. Division III sports are popular, although by junior year, many nonstarters tend to drop out. Football is the most vocal and visible team because of its size, but lacrosse has also been nationally ranked for the past four years. Men and Women’s soccer also been recently nationally ranked and were in the playoffs. Games often attract sports fans cheering their Bullets on. Intramurals, service organizations and various clubs also draw a large crowd.

To Be Greek or Not to Be
Gentlemen, you better step foot on campus ready to make friends with some girls! Greek life is the single largest affiliation on campus and accounts for over fifty percent of the campus population. Frat parties tend to dominate weekend activities, especially for underclassmen, and it is always advisable for guys to show up with a few extra girls in tow to ensure admittance. According to one student, “It’s a safe bet that if you’re not out at a frat sometime between Wednesday and Saturday, then you’re probably not doing anything entertaining.” On weekends, students frat-hop with ease between houses located within feet of each other. Some popular fraternities include Phi Delt, Phi Sig, and FIJI. Sororities are also popular, but because they are not allowed to live in sorority houses together, they do not play the same role that fraternities do. Gettysburg students seem to agree that many groups of friends who may have split somewhat because of their choices to go Greek or not, often reunite as upperclassmen when both Greek and independents tend to seek out non-Greek activities.

“It’s a safe bet that if you’re not out at a frat sometime between Wednesday and Saturday, then you’re probably not doing anything entertaining.”

Sports teams also play a prominent role on campus. Many students enter their freshmen year affiliated with one of Gettysburg’s Division III teams and that is often reflected in the social scenes. Tuesdays are a popular night to attend “Pitchers,” the weekly event at a local bar involving two-dollar pitchers of beer. Some of the other social options include campus-wide activities and trips put on by the Campus Activities Board. Spring Fest is a yearly event that kicks off with a spring concert drawing students, alumni and faculty. Crab Fest is another popular event where the dining hall sets out a picnic of fresh crabs and beer set to music. Thanksgiving Dinner is eagerly anticipated during the fall semester because the dining hall organizes a family-style Thanksgiving dinner for the entire student body. Snow Ball is the annual winter dance that provides free food and drink, as well as an opportunity to dress up.

"Gettysburg College is a campus rich with historical buildings, significant Civil War sites, and even rumors of hauntings. These traditions provide a background for the talented students who are drawn to both Gettysburg’s history and its state of the art facilities and inspiring faculty. This beautiful school full of beautiful people boasts an intimate learning environment and social scene with something for everyone." —Janet Yang

FYI
If you come to Gettysburg you better bring “a bike in order to enjoy all the battlefields.”

What’s the typical weekend schedule?
“Go to an outlet mall, go out for a nice meal with your friends off campus, drink at a frat party or somewhere else, and maybe watch a movie with friends.”

If I could change one thing about Gettysburg, I’d “make it more diverse.”

Three things every student at Gettysburg should do before graduating are “go on a GRAB (Gettysburg Recreational Activities Board) trip, swim in the fountain in the center of campus, and walk through the battlefields.”

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